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THE 



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OF 



ANNA THE PROPHETESS. 



BY A SABBATH SCHOOL TEACHER. 



REVISED BYTHE EDITOR, 



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D. P. 



KIDDER, 







NEW. YORK: 

PUBLISHED BY G. LANE & C. B. TIPPETT, 

FOR THE SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL 

CHURCH, 200 MULBERRY-STREET. 



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1844, 






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Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1844, by 
G. Lane & C. B. Tipfett, in the Clerk's Office of the District 
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r0 

J PREFACE. 

> The Bible, says an eminent writer, 
is half of it poetry. With quite as 
much tfuth may it be said, that half 
of it is biography. And it is one of 
the strongest internal evidences of the 
divinity of the Bible, that it teaches 
so much by living examples — some 
good, others bad. The former are 
for our imitation, the latter for our 
" admonition." 

The character of Anna the prophet- 
ess, so far as I know, has received 
very little attention. This book is a 
feeble attempt to bring that eminent 
saint into notice. If it serves to draw 
attention to the sacred volume, and 
to inspire any with love for the more 
careful perusal of its pages, it will 
not be written wholly in vain. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Who Anna was, 9 

II. Her employment, 11 

III. Her condition of life, ...... 15 

IV. Her residence, 18 

V. Her habits, 22 

VL Her religious character, 27 

VIL Her perseverance, 34 

VIIL Anna not a nun, 38 

IX. HOW FAR SHE SHOULD BE IMITATED, ... 43 



"V 



THE STORY 



OF 



ANNA THE PROPHETESS. 



CHAPTER I. 

WHO ANNA WAS. 

When the Saviour was about for- 
ty days old, according to a custom 
which prevailed among the Jews, he 
was brought to Jerusalem, and pre- 
sented to the Lord, in the temple, by 
Joseph and Mary, his parents. During 
the ceremony of presentation, he was 
met by two very remarkable individu- 
als, Simeon and Anna. 

The latter was called Anna the 
prophetess. She was a very aged 
and in many respects remarkable wo- 



10 ANNA THE PROPHETESS. 

man. The circumstances and man- 
ner of her introduction to our notice 
are such as will justify a more par- 
ticular account of her, accompanied 
by practical reflections. 

This venerable woman was of the 
tribe of Asher. She was now at 
least eighty-four years of age ; Dod- 
dridge and some others think, much 
more ; perhaps one hundred. In 
either case she was likely, whenever 
she appeared and spoke, to attract 
attention and command respect ; for 
age, among the Jews, was had in 
greater respect than it is among us. 
They rose up before the aged, and 
gave them the best and most honour- 
able seats. 

Anna being a Jewess, had of course 
been religiously educated. We know 
little, however, of her particular an- 



ANNA THE PROPHETESS, 11 

cestry. We only know she was of 
the tribe of Asher, and that her fath- 
er's name was Phanuel. Doddridge 
and Scott say her father was a per- 
son "of some considerable note ;" but 
I believe that all we can know about 
it, is principally from conjecture. 



CHAPTER II. 

HER EMPLOYMENT. 

Anna was a prophetess. What, 
then, is a prophetess ? Were there 
no prophetesses but those who fore- 
told events ? Or were prophet and 
prophetess names of a jnuch more 
extensive and general meaning ? 

Among the prophetesses mentioned 
in the Old Testament are Miriam, the 
sister of Moses ; Deborah ; Hannah, 
the mother of Samuel ; Abigail ; Hul- 



12 ANNA THE PROPHETESS. 

dah, and Esther. Among those men- 
tioned in the New Testament are An- 
na, and the four daughters of Philip 
the evangelist. More are mention- 
ed ; but these, I believe, are the more 
eminent. 

The wife of a prophet was some- 
times called a prophetess, but not 
always. The wife of Isaiah was 
called a prophetess ; simply, as I 
suppose, because she was his wife. 
But Anna, so far as we know, was 
never the wife of a prophet ; and so 
it was with Deborah, and Miriam, and 
several others. 

There were two sorts of prophets ; 
or, to speak more correctly, there 
were two offices of prophets. One 
was to foretell future events. This 
office was the most common. But 
another office was to be the teachers, 



ANNA THE PROPHETESS. 13 

or rather, as we should say in these 
days, the reformers of the people. 
Sometimes, however, those who mere- 
ly taught the law or the gospel were 
called prophets. Some of the pro- 
phets filled both these offices ; others 
only one. Those who foretold future 
events were generally reformers also, 
but there were many who explained 
Scripture and tried to enlighten and 
instruct, and were called prophets, 
who could not foretell future events. 
Of this last description I suppose 
Anna must have been. 

So Dr. Clarke thought. He says she 
was not a prophet in the strict sense of 
the word ; bat " rather a holy woman, 
who from her extensive knowledge 
and deep experience in divine things 
was capable of instructing others." 

One reason for believing that Anna 



14 ANNA THE PROPHETESS. 

did not foretell future events, is, that 
the spirit of prophecy had ceased in 
Israel at the time of Christ's appear- 
ance. Malachi, the last of the pro- 
phets who were distinguished, lived 
about four hundred years before the 
time of Anna and the birth of our 
Saviour. 

I have spoken of prophets, and 
named some of the principal prophet- 
esses ; but I had reference to true pro- 
phets alone. How many female false 
prophets there may have been is 
unknown. False prophets were so 
common that it would be strange if 
there were no females among them. 



ANNA THE PROPHETESS. 15 

CHAPTER III. 

HER CONDITION OF LIFE. 

This Anna the prophetess was 
what would at first view be regarded 
as a very lonely woman. And I have 
no doubt most of my readers would 
think a situation in life like hers, 
lonely indeed. 

She had neither children nor hus- 
band, nor, as it would appear, any 
living connection. A husband, it is 
true, she once had, but he lived but 
seven years ; and since his death she 
had remained unmarried. How long 
he had been dead is not so certain ; 
but, doubtless, more than fifty years. 

Many think she had been a widow 
eighty -four years; and that this is 
what Luke the evangelist, who wrote 
the story, means to say : but this 



16 ANNA THE PROPHETESS. 

of course cannot be determined with 
certainty. 

Was not hers, then, in either case, 
a lonely life ? Think of living half a 
century, in some little hut or room, 
without society. What though she 
lived in the midst of a great city ; and, 
as Henry suggests, in his commenta- 
ry, in some outbuilding of the temple, 
was she not still alone? 

In one respect, however, she was 
far from being alone. God, whom she 
continually served, was with her ; and 
it is highly probable that as she was 
a prophetess or public instructer, she 
received many visiters at her lodgings, 
or met them at the temple, to impart 
to them the knowledge which she pos- 
sessed of heavenly and divine things. 

A person who desires to do good — 
and who is there that cannot do good ? 



ANNA THE PROPHETESS. 17 

■ — is never alone ; nor need such a 
person to be lonely. What though 
they have no children or friends 
living with them ? What though 
they have outlived not only all their 
relatives, but all their early associates? 
What though they are in the midst of a 
new generation ? Still they are among 
human beings — people who need in- 
struction, and aid, and consolation. 

They may visit the sick, the op- 
pressed, and the imprisoned. Ob- 
jects of this sort — persons of this de- 
scription, I mean— are never wanting, 
especially in a large city. If the ser- 
vants of God, who love to do good, 
have no money to give — as I suppose 
was the case with Anna the prophetess 
— they may at least give what is better: 
they may, in Scripture language, im- 
part the oil and wine of consolation. 

2 



18 ANNA THE PROPHETESS, 

Besides, the aged, who are truly 
pious, prefer to hare some portion of 
their time to be alone ; or at least to 
have none with them but God. Young 
people are usually fond of being in 
the whirl and bustle of business; 
but age seeks quiet and seclusion, 
and seasons for meditation and re- 
flection. 



CHAPTER IV. 

HER RESIDENCE. 

"She departed not from the temple," 
says the evangelist. This does not 
of necessity mean that she never left 
the temple ; although it is quite pos- 
sible that in her old age she never 
did. Some think she had lodgings in 
the courts of the temple; or among its 
outbuildings, as Mr. Henry suggests. 



ANNA THE PROPHETESS. 19 

For my part, however, I suppose 
that departing not from the temple 
only means that she was constantly 
and regularly there at the stated times 
and seasons for worship, and when 
there was any good work for her to 
do. We sometimes say of people 
who are very regular in their attend- 
ance on public worship, at a certain 
place, that they are always there ; and 
very probably the language of Luke 
means no more with respect to Anna. 

Be this as it may, however, she 
lived near the place of public worship, 
as near as she could. This, at her 
great age, was desirable ; especially 
as she does not appear to have had 
any children or friends to carry her 
there, had she lived at a distance. 

This fact may remind those of us 
who have aged parents of the import- 



20 ANNA THE PROPHETESS. 

ance of making provision for their 
convenient attendance on public wor- 
ship, and at other places where they 
desire to go. And if our parents are 
not very aged now, they may be here- 
after. We may some of us have our 
parents live to be as old as Anna was. 
Or if we have grand-parents at the 
same great age, we should remember 
their wants too. Children should not 
forget to provide for the wants and 
look out for the comfort of their aged 
friends as long as they have any; even 
if it is back to the fifth generation. 

To make provision for the comfort 
and happiness ^of parents and grand- 
parents, • great-grand-parents, &c, is 
one way of obeying the fifth com- 
mandment ; — that which requires us 
to honour our fathers and mothers. No 
good and truly enlightened person will 



ANNA THE PROPHETESS. 21 

feel that he obeys this command, in 
the spirit of it, if he neglects any aged 
relation, however distant. 

In general I know, our aged friends 
will choose to live with us even though 
we are not so conveniently situated 
with respect to attendance at public 
places. Sometimes, however, it may 
be otherwise. They may prefer to 
leave us. 

Anna, I am persuaded, had no re- 
latives living ; not one. Children, as 
I have already said, I think she 
never had, and she had probably out- 
lived all the rest. It was best, there- 
fore, on every account, she should 
reside where she did. 



22 ANNA THE POPHETESS. 



CHAPTER V. 

HER HABITS. 



Anna the prophetess, as I am fully- 
persuaded, was a woman of good 
habits. I do not mean, when I say 
this, to refer particularly to her reli- 
gious habits ; of those I shall say 
something in another chapter. 

We have seen that she was regu- 
lar in her attendance at the temple. 
There is no doubt she was punctual 
to the hours of worship, as well as 
regular. The Bible does not quite 
say so, but it does almost. Nor have 
I a doubt that she was as regular and 
exact in all her private religious du- 
ties, as she was in her public duties ; 
her attendance in the temple, at the 
synagogue, &c. 



ANNA THE PROPHETESS. 23 

But admitting this for once ; ad- 
mitting, I mean, that she was regular 
in all these religious habits, and we 
have good reason for believing she 
was regular in all her other habits. 
It usually is so with people. As sure- 
ly as you find a person rigidly exact 
in his religious habits, he will be so 
in his habits of every sort. Or it 
will be so in at least nine cases in ten. 

Anna was doubtless an early riser. 
She may not indeed have risen in the 
night, or even an hour or two before 
day, as some religious bigots are 
wont to do ;f but she was probably 

* It is said, as I well know, by Bloomfield, a distin- 
guished writer, that some of the stated periods of wor- 
ship in the temple were nocturnal or nightly. But I 
cannot find that it was so, except at the great leasts. 
Then, instead of beginning the morning service of tfee 
temple at the dawn of day, as was usual, they began 
much earlier* 



24 ANNA THE PROPHETESS. 

up as soon as the sun gave light to 
enable her to rise. No one, I ven- 
ture to say, found her sleeping after 
sunrise. 

In order, however, to secure this 
point, it is presumed that she was in 
the habit — and this is very important 
— of going to bed early. Old people, 
like children, must have a full amount 
of sleep, or they soon suffer. They 
must have it, too, in the night, the 
proper season of sleep ; they cannot 
make up by day for the loss of sleep 
in the night. Nor can anybody else 
do this, even though they think they 

gr 

can. Sleep in the day time is not so 
good and refreshing as sleep in the 
night. 

If it is said that she was engaged in 
fastings and prayers night and day, I 
reply, that I hope every Christian of 



ANNA THE PROPHETESS. 25 

every age is thus engaged, as well 
as the aged Anna. But this does not 
mean and cannot mean that they 
never do anything but pray. No per- 
son, I say again, can have such health 
at eighty-four as Anna appears to 
have enjoyed if his sleep is much in- 
terrupted ; except, indeed, a miracle 
is wrought in his favour. 

She was always in a praying frame, 
says Henry ; and this I suppose to 
have been the fact, " Having no se- 
cular business," he adds, " or being 
past it," that is, too old for it, " she 
gave herself wholly to her devotions, 
and not only fasted twice a week, but 
always lived a mortified life, and 
spent that time in religious exercises 
which others spent in eating, and 
drinking, and sleeping." 

Mr. Henry does not mean to say 



26 ANNA THE PROPHETESS. 

she did not eat and drink, but only 
that she did not waste time in eating 
and drinking, as they do who set their 
hearts unduly on these things. It is 
as much our duty to eat, and drink, 
and sleep, to the full extent which 
health requires, as to fast, or pray, 
or praise. For if we do not attend 
properly to the former, how can we 
have strength to attend to the latter ? 

All of Anna's habits, as well as 
those of rising and retiring, were no 
doubt right, so far as she knew what 
right was. It is the privilege and duty 
of Christians to do right in every- 
thing, and to be in the habit of doing 
right in everything, even the small- 
est matters. 

I hardly need stop to discuss the 
question how much Anna's great age 
depended on, or was caused by, her 



ANNA THE PROPHETESS. 27 

good and healthy habits. I will only say 
that no people are so likely, as a gen- 
eral rule, to enjoy good health and live 
long as the good. Paul himself seems 
to affirm as much as this, in his let- 
ter to the Ephesians, when, in advis- 
ing children to obey their parents, he 
gives, as one reason for so doing, "that 
it may be well with thee, and that 
thou mayest live long on the earth." 



CHAPTER VI. 

HER RELIGIOUS CHARACTER. 

But Anna was not only a woman of 
good habits in the ordinary matters of 
life — which was much to her credit 
and praise — she was a religious wo- 
man, and of good religious habits. 

She fasted and prayed much ; and 
thus gave to all Christians an exam- 



28 ANNA THE PROPHETESS. 

pie of self-denial and devotion to the 
service of God which they would do 
w r ell to follow. 

But Anna prayed as well as fasted. 
She was in the habit of prayer. She 
prayed night and day ; or, in other 
words, she suffered nothing of a merely 
worldly nature to break in upon or in- 
terrupt her seasons of prayer. Some 
of the Jews, especially those of the 
sect called Pharisees, made a great 
parade of their prayers. They pray- 
ed to be seen. 

This Anna did not do. Though 
she had never heard the Saviour's 
command to pray in secret, she was 
unquestionably one of those whose 
prayers are chiefly made when no 
mortal eye is looking on — when none 
but God knows what they are doing. 

Is it asked how we know that she 



ANNA THE PROPHETESS. 29 

prayed if no earthly eye saw her? 
How could even Luke the evangelist 
know it ? As a common man, he cer- 
tainly could not know it; but then 
Luke was inspired by the Holy Spirit 
of God to relate some things which 
he could not otherwise have known. 
It was as an inspired man that he 
stated this fact about Anna the pro- 
phetess. 

If the question should be asked 
how I know she did not make a pa- 
rade of her prayers, as the Pharisees 
did ? my reply is, She served God in 
her prayers ; which could not have 
been the fact, had her prayers been 
made to be seen of men. 

She served God, we are told, night 
and day. She served him continually. 
Her prayers must have been a part of 
this service. They must therefore 



30 ANNA THE PROPHETESS. 

have been prayers indeed. They 
must have been from the heart. 

I have said, as Luke does, that she 
served God continually. But I have 
before said that she was probably a 
public instructer. She certainly was 
so on this occasion, as we shall see 
from examining the account of her 
meeting the infant Saviour, and the 
consequences. 

For she not only gave thanks to 
God, publicly, as soon as she saw 
him, but spake of him to her friends 
the Jews, who were present, and who 
like herself had long been looking for 
and expecting the appearance of the 
Messiah. 

So that on this occasion, at least, 
she did something besides fasting and 
praying; she instructed. She served 
God still, of course ; but she served 



ANNA THE PROPHETESS. 31 

him in instructing mankind. Our 
great business in this world, at all 
times — whatever may be our condi- 
tion and circumstances — is to serve 
God ; but we may serve him by good 
deeds, as well as by fasting and pray- 
ing. 

True it is that we may perform a 
thousand actions, not only in the way 
of instruction, but otherwise, which 
will not be serving God. We may 
even clothe the naked, visit the sick, 
and set free the captive, without so 
much as thinking of God at all. Is 
this serving him ? It is only when it 
is the purpose of our lives to serve 
him in everything we do, that we 
really serve him in all we do. It is 
only when we have consecrated or 
devoted ourselves body and soul to 
him, that the smaller duties of life 



32 ANNA THE PROPHETESS. 

become a part of the service we ren- 
der him. It is only then that we serve 
him continually. 

It was in this way that Anna, in all 
she said, and thought, and did, served 
God. The service of those around 
her— her duties to herself even — be- 
came in this way religious service. 
She served God as truly — not as 
highly but as truly — when she ate, and 
drank, and slept, if she ate, and drank, 
and slept rightly, as when she was 
engaged in actual fasting and prayer. 
In truth, such a life as this would be 
a life of fasting and prayer ; because 
it would be spent in the spirit of fast- 
ing and prayer. This, I know, is 
little more than to repeat what Paul 
has said, repeatedly; only in differ- 
ent words, when he tells us that 
whether we eat or drink, or whatso- 



ANNA THE PROPHETESS. 33 

ever we do, should be all done to the 
glory of God. It is, in truth, no 
more than every one holds himself 
obligated to do. 

I have sometimes thought the 
young were liable to fall into the 
very serious error — in fact, not a few 
older people fall into it — of feeling as 
if they could do nothing in this world 
which is worthy the name of the Lord's 
service, unless they are actually en- 
gaged in what is usually considered 
as prayer, or praise, or some specific 
or external duty. They know how 
the matter is, but in practice they 
seem to forget it. 

Such persons should remember 

that if their great purpose of life 

— their dearest object — is that God 

may be honoured in all they do, 

whether it be prayer, praise, medita- 

3 



34 ANNA THE PROPHETESS. 

tion, labour, recreation, study, or even 
the smallest matters of life which are 
worth performing at all, then all these 
small matters are, in a sense, worship. 
At any rate, we serve God in them ; 
and we serve him continually. 



CHAPTER VII. 

HER PERSEVERANCE. 

People must not only serve God, in 
prayer, praise, and other religious du- 
ties, and their fellow-men, for his sake, 
in doing them good ; but they must 
continue to do so, as long as they live. 
This continual serving God to the end 
of life is usually called perseverance. 

This perseverance, or persevering 
to the end of life in well doing, is 
made our duty. All the rewards men- 
tioned in the Bible are for those per- 



ANNA THE PROPHETESS. 35 

sons — and those alone — who perse- 
vere, or endure, as it is sometimes call- 
ed. " He that endureth to the end, the 
same shall be saved," says the Sa- 
viour. And again : "Be thou faithful 
until death, and I will give thee a 
crown of life." 

Now we have every reason to be- 
lieve that Anna the prophetess en- 
dured to the end. 1st. Because such 
honourable mention is made of her 
by Luke. 2d. Because she was of 
the kind of people who are the most 
apt to hold out. They who are the 
most truly devoted to God, and con- 
secrated or set apart to his service, are 
the most likely to persevere in it to the 
end. 3d. Because she had already 
persevered so long — one who has lived 
a holy life as long as Anna had, is not 
very likely to apostatize or fall away. 



36 ANNA THE PROPHETESS, 

We sometimes reap the reward of 
our perseverance in well doing this 
side the grave. At other times, how- 
ever, we do not. But a reward is 
ever in reserve for us, of some sort or 
other, either here or hereafter. Fre- 
quently the reward is bestowed in 
this life, and also in that which is to 
come. 

Anna the prophetess received a 
measure of the reward of her pious 
perseverance in this life. She was 
permitted to see what kings, prophets, 
and righteous men in great num- 
bers had desired to see, but had not 
been permitted. She had lived to 
behold and rejoice in the infant Sa- 
viour. 

What a moment that was when the 
godly woman, in pursuance of her re- 
ligious duties, first beheld the babe of 



ANNA THE PROPHETESS. 37 

Bethlehem, and Joseph and Mary, in 
the temple, and good old Simeon hold- 
ing the babe in his arms, and bless- 
ing him ! How must her pious heart 
have leaped for joy ! 

It is difficult to guess which was 
most joyful on meeting the Saviour, 
she or Simeon. It had been revealed 
to him that he should see the Saviour 
before he died ; therefore he had lived 
in expectancy of the event. But Anna 
had received no such revelation; or at 
least no account is given that she had. 

She believed in a coming Messiah, 
and now her eyes beheld him whom 
she had long expected. She was 
surprised, but not overcome ; she was 
joyous, but she rejoiced in God. 
Great as her joy was, it does not 
seem to have been immoderate — she 
"gave thanks to God, and spake of 



38 ANNA THE PROPHETESS. 

him — the Saviour — to all them that 
looked for redemption in Jerusalem." 



CHAPTER VIII. 

ANNA NOT A HERMIT, OR NUN. 

There are many people in the 
world, who, under the idea of superior 
sanctity, bury themselves in some 
forest, or cell, or nunnery, or convent, 
and no more associate with people, 
lest they should be contaminated. 
There are even some persons who 
have not yet passed the meridian of 
life who do this. 

Now if this course of conduct were 
tolerable in any one, it would be in 
some very aged person like Anna. 
Who has not read or heard of the 
aged French prisoner, who after hav- 
ing been immured in the dungeon of 



ANNA THE PROPHETESS. 39 

a prison forty-sevenyears was sudden- 
ly liberated ! 

What was life to this old man? 
All his friends and acquaintances were 
either dead or removed. He could 
find nobody whom he knew, or who 
cared for him. The very place where 
he had lived had not only passed 
into other hands, but was so wholly 
altered that he could scarcely believe 
it to be the place of his former resi- 
dence. Is it to be wondered at, that 
he should beg to be carried back to 
his dungeon to spend the rest of his 
days in it ? 

True, Anna's case was different 
from his. She had grown gradually 
into her solitude. She knew some 
faces ; and there were doubtless many 
of those to whom she had done good, 
who cared for, and were glad to see 



ANNA THE PROPHETESS. 

her. Still she was an old woman ; 
and I say again that we might have 
pardoned her had she secluded her- 
self from the world, and no more 
mingled with it. 

There are, even now, some who 
think of her as a sort of religious nun : 
religious nuns, they say, do good 
among themselves. They are not 
wholly buried to the world. And 
what was Anna after all more than 
they ? And if we approve of her de- 
voting herself to the service of God, 
so exclusively, why should we find 
fault with people in these days, for 
doing the same thing ? 

Now I say again, it is not the same 
thing for the young to become her- 
mits, as it is for those to do so whose 
great age has already half separated 
them from the world, and who are 



ANNA THE PROPHETESS. 41 

too old and feeble to do much good, 
if they desire it. There is a wide dif- 
ference between twenty, or thirty, or 
forty years of age, and eighty-five or 
a hundred. 

But we may be sure that Anna was 
never a recluse. She fasted and 
prayed much, to be sure, as monks 
and nuns profess to do ; but she did 
more than this. She was a prophet- 
ess. If she did not go abroad in 
Jerusalem or out of it, to proclaim 
the truth, or to foretell future events, 
she at least taught in the temple. 
The Bible would never have called 
her a prophetess had she not done 
this. 

It is indeed quite possible that 
when she gave thanks she beheld 
the infant Jesus, and spake of him 
to all who looked for redemption in 



42 ANftA THE PROPHETESS. 

Jerusalem ; she did this chiefly in 
the presence of acquaintances, rather 
than strangers. Let it be so, if you 
please. 

Remember, however, she was a 
prophetess before this ; and that not 
a word is said but she was so now. 

Christianity, though it requires us 
all to be devoted to the worship of 
God, does not require anybody to se- 
clude himself from the world. Christ 
was no recluse. And are we not to 
be like him ? Not indeed in every 
instance, to go about doing good, 
like him ; but like him to be devoted, 
wherever we are, and whatever w r e 
engage in, to the good of our fellow- 
men; and to be always, like him, in 
the spirit of prayer, praise, and fast- 
ing. 



ANNA THE PROPHETESS. 43 



CHAPTER IX. 

HOW FAR SHE SHOULD BE IMITATED. 

The Bible, I believe, mentions but 
one Anna; but it mentions a great 
number of pious women. The divine 
plan in giving us so many sketches 
of biography, seems to have been 
to present practical piety in every va- 
riety of form. Here it is imbodied 
in youth, there in age; here in the 
high, there in the low; here in the 
bond, there in the free ; here in the 
unlettered, there in the disciple of 
Gamaliel ; here in males, and there in 
females. The story of Anna is per- 
haps sufficient to exemplify religion 
in its application to the extreme old 
age in females. 

But though we have but one Anna 



44 ANNA THE PROPHETESS. 

mentioned in the Bible, I most ear- 
nestly hope we have many in the 
world. We have hundreds and thou- 
sands of female Christians who might 
co-operate with the Redeemer, in the 
great work of saving the world, by 
moving in a sphere not unlike that of 
Anna the prophetess. 

In saying this, however, it does 
not follow that I would recommend 
to the females of our own times to be- 
come public teachers, whether in syn- 
agogues, temples, churches, or lec- 
ture rooms. To most of them — per- 
haps to all — divine Providence has 
assigned quite a different vocation. 
Nor is it necessary that any should 
become public teachers in order to 
imitate the spirit of Anna. 

Times and things are altered. Two 
thousand years, or nearly so, have 



ANNA THE PROPHETESS. 45 

passed away since either males or 
females have been set apart by direct 
communication from Heaven as pub- 
lic instructers. Custom now does 
not in general sanction this form of 
public teaching. Above all, women 
may generally do more good in 
another way — in performing the 
duties of wife and mother. 

Some there are, however, who may 
safely imitate Anna. Their situa- 
tion in life — their freedom from do- 
mestic cares — give them an abun- 
dance of leisure for Christian duties. 
These may be as devoted to God, for 
aught I see, as Anna was. They 
may serve him by fasting and pray- 
er night and day, as well as by 
speaking of him, at least among their 
neighbours andfriends, andin their own 
Jerusalem. They may visit the sick, 



46 ANNA THE PROPHETESS. 

instruct the young in common and 
sabbath schools, and feed and clothe 
the hungry and the naked. 

Would the most fastidious among 
us object to all this ? 

Woman is not obliged — nor indeed 
is she required, in these days, the 
young more especially — to immure 
herself within the walls, even the 
outer walls of a temple, made with 
hands, a temple ofw^ood and stone; 
nor even within the walls of a town 
or city. There are opportunities for 
devoting ourselves to the great work 
of doing good, wherever we go. 

She may indeed serve continually 
in the temple of the Lord ; but not 
that of Jerusalem. Know ye not, 
says Paul, that ye are the temples of 
the Holy Ghost? The time cometh, 
said our Saviour, when ye shall nei- 



ANNA THE PROPHETESS. 47 

ther at Jerusalem nor yet in this 
mountain — Mount Gerizim — worship 
the Father. God is a Spirit, and 
they that worship him must worship 
him in spirit and in truth. 

It is the concurrent testimony of 
Scripture, that the humble, contrite, 
believing disciple of Christ is the true 
Christian temple ; and that here, more 
than in the temple of Solomon at Je- 
rusalem, or indeed in any other edi- 
fice, he delights to dwell. Moreover, 
the world is his temple, and we may 
everywhere worship him. 

If these views are correct, the hum- 
ble Christian can never escape from 
God's temple, if he would. Though 
poorer than Anna and more obscure, 
he may live constantly in his holy 
presence, as it were in the very holy 
of holies. Every female, therefore, 



48 ANNA THE PROPHETESS. 

may in this respect, at least, imitate 
Anna. 

Let none fall into the common mis- 
take that we cannot be eminently de- 
voted to God without giving money ; 
and that the greater the sum given, 
the stronger the evidence of our devo- 
tion and love. There are a thousand 
forms of charity besides money giving. 
We do not know that Anna the proph- 
etess had money to give, yet whether 
she had or had not, she could serve 
God, and that too, night and day. She 
could attain without it to the highest 
human honours. Without it, she 
could reap the full and abundant re- 
ward of those who turn many to 
righteousness — that of shining as the 
sun in the kingdom of their Father. 



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